Before you can become an astronaut and go into space with George Clooney, you have to be stuck on a bus that can’t go faster than 50 MPH. Or that’s at least what Hollywood has taught me. I didn’t include bit parts, television show appearances, or theater roles, and it’s worth nothing that two first-time nominees, Lupita Nyong’o and Barkhad Abdi, have never really been in anything before their stunning performances in 12 Years a Slave and Captain Phillips, respectively, so kudos to them. You’ve come along way, babies. Except you, Lupita and Barkhad. You were great from the start.

BEST ACTORChristian Bale, nominated for Irving Rosenfeld, American HustleFirst known for: Jamie Graham, Empire of the Sun